This place was far different then any that the young ex officer had ever been. He had been told he was being fired from his job back on the main land, because he was being personally selected for a covert mission elsewhere by the government. That at the time had made little sense, since no one could give him any more information then that. He had been told he had a week to get everything packed up, and loose ends tied. He could not tell anyone anything, and it was not just because he knew little himself.

They did not want it leaking out. When the time had come, men in black had shown up to get all of his things. He himself had been taken into a black car with tented windows. He was driven to the shipyard, where a helicoptor was waiting. He was not sure where he was going, even as he was sitting within the craft. It wasn't until they landed at an island off the coast, that his intrest really peaked. He saw nothing on the surface of the island that suggested life, it was overgrown with wildlife. The only way on or off was by air or by sea, but that was seeming to be difficult, for as soon as they got out, the helicoptor took off again.

He was led to what looked like the side of a cliff, though after a moment the rock face slid back to expose a set of metal doors. They then slid back as well, opening to reveal a large hanger. Men in suits and arms were located there, and they eyed him as he entered. Taking a breath, he followed his guide inside. His eyes moved around the scene a bit, but there was little even here. The hanger was metal, and there were lights hanging overhead. No windows, two elevators to his right, and two other doors to his left. He glanced back to see the rock face slide back into place, and the metal doors close.

He was unsure if he should speak up, so he remained silent. He was led to one of the elevators, though it had no bittons. His guide swiped a card over a pad and the doors opened. Stepping inside, the doors closed and they moved downwards. His nerves were bubbling away in his stomach, but on the surface he looked calm and collected. He was a skilled officer, top of his game at only twenty one. He was told it was super rare for someone so young to be given this position, whatever this position was. The doors opened, and his breath caught. They were standing on a large overhang.

Moving to the railing, he looked down into a large open area with desks and computers. People working on them and moving about. It was like the scene out of a science fiction movie, high tech everywhere you looked. Clear tube like elevators to the front near a large screen at the head of the room. To either side were more solitary offices, where others were working. He wondered what the hell this place was. "Ah, officer Knight, so good to finally have the pleasure of meeting you" a man in a suit walked over. "I am agent Baxter, but that is not important. You will be briefed on your assignment" he handed over an envelope, "then you will be shown your quarters to settle in before you get to it."

He smiled, turning on his heel. The guide he had been with, motioned for the male to follow this agent guy. He did, following him along the landing to a hall, where another elevator stood. Upon getting into this one, the agent continued. "You are aware of the military's work to advance and keep the people safe yes?" A nod was given. "Good, well, what you don't know is that we have developed quite an effective weapons system. Working in artificial intellegence and artificial cores, we were able to create humanoid AI units" he did not seem to be phased by what he was saying. Trying to keep up, was making his mind spin a bit, so he decided to open up the file. At the top was an id card, already fitted with a picture of him.

Avary Knight

Security Agent 3157626.

Security agent? So that was a fancy way of saying he was here to be a guard. The man was talking, but Avary's eyes were drawn to the papers. They explained a bit more of what the man was talking about, but it was the pictures that got him. There were pictures of machines...ones that looked incredibly life like humans. A major difference was they were of course robots, and they were fitted well for combat. Just what was the military and government up to? The elevator stopped.

The doors opened to a hallway, that looked more like one would see in an appartment building. "This is the residential sector, for our members. We are currently in the guard section and..." he walked out down the hall. Avary followed, until they stood in front of a door with a gold nameplate with his name on it. The man turned to him, handing him a key. "This is your room, we will expect you at your post ready to go in one hour" he began walking away. "Oh...and welcome to the base Agent Knight" the man smiled, before walking away.

He silently followed the man on their way back to the apartment wing. It was so called because of the levels of pods that were accessed from the ceiling dome in the middle of the curved room that brought down each unit as they were needed, the mechanical arm only accessing one at a time. The hallway to the apartment wing was a long, white one, and only turned once to the left. He fiddled with his shirt a little, the button at the topmost of his collar. His name was on a plastic tag as well as his shirt:

Unit 0000021

"Christian"

His unit number was his official, documented name. He was simply pegged 'Christian' by his programmer because of his programmer's son's name. It was simple to remember that way, easy to think back to home when he started to miss life on the mainland. Today, Christian's schedule was cut in half. For the morning and early afternoon he focused on guarding the main entrances of the facility, as there were two: One that was used as a general entrance and exit, and one that was used only in emergencies. He slid between each main entryway with intent, his pale, icy blue eyes scanning every possible surface in front of him. He was rarely spoken to by the actual humans that roamed the halls for each of their respective duties, unless he was stopped specifically and given curt commands or asked quick questions regarding the security measures. It was hard to keep up the guise of emotionless, inhuman machine, but never making eye contact with anyone that passed by helped the matter.

After his guard duty he went into testing. A variety of physically-taxing classes from running until he nearly collapsed in exhaustion, lifting gradually greater weights, withstanding pain that others were sure he couldn't feel but simply measure in units. They rarely listened to his pleas to stop the tests early. And these were broken by ones that tested him mentally. He couldn't understand the math, the numbers. He could read novels in mere hours. He could paint and draw photo-realistically. He could understand sciences but it was hard to get through the especially intricate studies. He remembered history very well, however, and enjoyed that. But they always berated him the moment he answered a question wrong.

Entering the apartment wing, Christian broke away from the man and went to the center of the room as the mechanical arm reached around to the second level to the left and pulled a pod from the wall and deposited it on one of the stands. He stepped up, looking at his reflection before the clear pod front slid open and back. Brown hair. It was wild, somewhat long. Usually he let himself pull it back, but he was sure whoever created him had formed him after someone in their life. It was easier to do that, working from photos, memories. He didn't mind looking like someone that was real. He could at least imagine how his life---or whatever his creators called it---would be if he had a real, beating heart. Actual gray matter in his skull. Real blood running through him.

With a resigned sigh, Christian stepped into his pod and let the cover slide over him. It was only a few inches away from his face, but it didn't feel constricting. Perhaps frustratingly closed-off, so silent that he could hear his inner-workings, but he didn't mind being rather alone. The mechanical arm pulled the pod off the floor, returning it to its original place, and Christian closed his eyes. Though he didn't fall into a sleep state yet. He looked at the refection of his eyes. If he stared hard enough, he could see the small, blue-tinted plates that made up his irises. The lenses that were his pupils. He closed his eyes.

Avary was left alone. He turned the knob of the door he had been given. He opens the door, looking inside. It was a pretty plain appartment, he stepped inside. His eyes moved around a bit, things were so neat, tidy and still. The silence was strong inside. He takes a breath, looking at the door once more. He closes it, before moving around. He took the time to look around a bit. There was a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and livingroom. Everything one would need. It was up to date and not to shabby considering. He sighed, slipping a hand through his hair. His eyes turned to a few boxes sitting to the side.

They were the begining of his things. As well as a black bag like one would get from a cleaners sat across the foot of his new bed. A uniform. He slid down the zipper, looking over the cop like gettup inside. It was not to bad, he had worn a similar one back home. He decided to take a quick shower, before getting changed. He had just a bit before his meeting, so he locked his appartment door, before he went to have a slgith look around on his way to the designated area. He noticed many things along the way, more and more of them making him realize this was anything but a normal facility. He took a breath, as he passed a few doctors in the hall. He knew he would be getting a psych evaluation, as well as a physical.

They needed to make sure he was fully up to par. He was no fool, he took care of his body. He had needed to for his job. He ate healthy, and worked out. He had quite a nice body, though he was not vain enough to show it off any instance he got. He came to a locked door, blocking his path. Lifting his ID card, the little light on the sensor blinked red for a moment before it turned green. He was a bit more curious about how much access he had. He was sure he would have to prove himself before he was allowed to go to stricter places. He would do his best, this was going to be one interesting job at least. Whatever it actually was, he would face it one day at a time and kick ass doing it.

He did dream, or at least, he thought he did. The images flitting through his vision even while his eyes were closed didn't resemble anything he saw when he was awake and active, because he saw what wasn't on the island. New places, new faces, diverse things that Christian knew was far away, and real. His creators would often pass their dreams off as recorded memories uploaded into their database, played through while they were otherwise powered down---or asleep, as Christian and others would refer to it as. Seeing towering buildings and lights above his head was almost mind-boggling, but he felt oddly at home among the cityscape, even as people bustled past and cars called out and a roar of voices overtook the air. Of course, when he looked up, he couldn't see the stars in the sky. The lights blocked them out. How could this environment be no more than a prerecorded video file playing through his mind in sleep mode? It felt real.

He opened his eyes and lifted his head, hitting it on the glass front of the pod and grimacing in pain. If his creators saw, they would have written it off to the sensors in his skin emulating a pain response, deciding that Christian didn't feel a thing and only reacted because it was a learned behavior. His argumentative state after the fact was decided to be the mimic emotions installed. It frustrated Christian and the other AI that were like him, able to feel as a human did on all tiers and not be believed when they said so. He had seen others like him, sixteen before, lose their minds, or be pushed so far they simply died. Christian was scared of death. He knew he wasn't technically alive, like his makers. He knew he had no soul, or real heart, just a core inside that functioned like one. Where would he go when he died? Would his conscious simply cease to exist?

His pod was moved from its place and set on the floor, and the glass front slid aside so he could step out. One of his creators stood with a book of papers under his arm. "Christian, what's your current power level?"

He sighed in immediate response, but closed one eye. It revealed a reading involving his current power level, intelligence reading, physical capability, and several graphs that were bare for now. "A hundred percent." He replied stoically, crossing his arms. "Is it time to begin my usual rounds?"

"Actually, no." The man, Ray, pulled the papers from under his arm and held them up. "We've got a new security agent and we need a skilled guard unit to show him how things work, the layout of the facility, emergency exits... the works."

"And what about my current responsibilities?"

"Until further notice, consider them void. For now it's important to get this man accustomed to the facility and working with a unit." Christian nodded, and Ray motioned to the door. "Head out, then. We'll inform him of the current arrangement shortly and have him meet you in the southwest corridor."

Christian slid by Ray, passing a hand through his hair and rubbing his forehead. At least it was a different setup, now.

He stood in silence, as he waited at the appropriate spot. He was unsure about what exactly was going on here. After a few moments, the man from before, Agent Baxter, walked over. "Good, you arrived easy enough" he handed him another file. "You are going to be shown around by a unit. It is imperative that you get used to seeing, and working, with them" he said, not skiping a beat like before. He nodded to the file, "that will give you what you need to know, the rest...is up to you and that unit."

He stepped past him, "if for some reason after this little tour you are unable to continue with your duties you are free to return to the mainland." Avary raised an eyebrow, "forgive me sir but...if this is really so top secret...I doubt it would be so easy as just to let me go." The man smiled, "bright young lad..that's good." He noded, "even though you would be able to return inland...we would have to take percautions of course. You would be monitored, and any sign that you're a threat would end in you being delt with...permanently." That word, the way he said it so easily....permanently.

Did he mean they would kill him? They couldn't...that was against the law....but he guessed for being so high up and military grade...perhaps they went above the law? He did not show a reaction, the man searching his face and eyes for a moment. "I understand sir" Avary said. "Good" Agent Baxter turned away, leading him down the hall and along the next one. "You will be paid accordingly, and we have regular deliveries from the mainland...you can order what you please, or what is needed for your life here and job" he continued.

"Depending on what it is, it will either be paid for for you with no charge to you...or you will have to cover the cost yourself understood?" Avary nodded. "You will not be allowed to leave the base during your assignment, you are to remain here for if you are needed. Though times will be designated for you where you will be able to return inland for awhile if you choose...we understand to much time here can start to make one feel...closed off and trapped" Baxter said, "we can not have you faultering on us, or going crazy, or you will be delt with as well." Avary glanced at him.

"Once it is deemed you are unable to work anylonger, and if you have served loyaly and well, you will be allowed to return inland to live out the rest of your days as you please...however.." "If I am deemed to be a compromise...you will deal with me" Avary finishes for him. Baxter actually gave a laugh, "now you're getting it...and it does not seem to bother you?" "I understand risks of the job...I would be lying if I did say that I believed there wouldn't be any when I agreed to come here. I was prepared to accept things, and do what needed to be done...and I am not about to back out now" the fire from before returning to Avary's eyes.

Baxter smiled, seeming to approve. "Good, you made a fine policeman, and you will make a fine agent" they reached the designated meeting area. Baxter saluted, and Avary did the same, catching on quite fast as was typical with him. With that, Baxter turned away and left him to await whoever was to show him around. He sighed, leaning against the wall, placing the bottom of his right foot against it as he crossed his arms.

Christian was sure he would be meeting the new security agent alone, until he sensed someone to his right halfway down the hall. Looking to his side the unit saw Ray keeping up with him, but just barely---Christian was tall and his gait was swift, making it difficult for most humans to keep up. "I thought I would be meeting this man alone." He said simply.

"And you will, but I feel you'd need to be a little informed..." Ray put a hand on Christian's arm, slowing him a little. Christian shook his head but Ray wasn't looking at him. "He comes from the nearest city so he's probably had a visual of the island for a good long time. He's young but before he was chosen for this location he was a very good cop, obviously a natural by what we've gathered."

"Good, good. Now can I please go alone?" Christian gave Ray a critical look, and the man took the hint, scurrying down another hallway that led toward a laboratory. Christian sighed, turning and going the opposite direction. He would be working with a human. A human that no doubt saw all units the same way---as machines meant to be smacked around when they didn't do as instructed on a knee-jerk reaction like the supercomputers that powered the base. But at the same time he was a new security agent. He probably didn't know how to handle the units at all because there was no doubt he had never seen them or interacted with one before.

Christian sighed, pressing his palms on his hips and rubbing them up and down as if they itched. They did---out of anticipation. He wanted to make a good impression for all the others. The ones made after him. The few that were still 'alive' before him. Hopefully this human security agent wouldn't be like the others he had to work with. He, after all, knew the place the best. He was one of the oldest but also one of the most intricate of the units, and new upgrades had him up to par, perhaps one of the best. The newest units only just compared. He was one of the best, just like this new agent. He'd be fine. He had to think that, at the very least.

Christian turned the corner, keeping himself calm but he couldn't help but feel nervous. No doubt a real heart would be pounding, feeling as if it were about to explode. But he just felt warm, as if his core were working harder. There he was, the human he would be showing the ropes. Would he hate being led by a unit? Would he see Christian as little more than a walking, talking computer? He bit his lip, stepping in front of the new agent and nodding once to him.

"Hello, agent. My name is Chris---Ah, I apologize---My name is unit 0000021. I am a head security unit well versed in every entrance and exit to this base. I know where every security camera is, I know where every control room is, I know this place as if a map were tattooed on my arm. I am well equipped to handle any and all disturbance including unknown breach in security or raid. I'm supposed to show you around this place and make you acquainted with each room, hall, and secret corridor we have." He crossed his arms behind him, squeezing his hands together tightly.